Professor Layton and the Haunted Carnival
by StrawberryJamTarts
Summary: Professor Layton takes on a new mystery, a strange carnival is somehow connected to the disappearances of people all across London.    Prequel to Elsie Turner and the Lost Future
1. Tokens

**(I do not own Professor Layton or anything to do with it! I promise!)****  
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Chapter One

Tokens

Professor Hershel Layton shuffled his papers, glancing fleetingly out the window for a moment as the golden sunlight broke through the cloud to shine on his elegant top-hat, giving it a distinctly ethereal look to it.

"Professor...?" Luke poked his head around Layton's office door, blinking warily as he saw the distant look in his mentor's eyes.

"Yes, Luke?" responded Layton automatically, hurriedly focussing his attention on the ten-year-old boy who stood on the threshold.

Luke scrunched up his nose, as if trying to remember something.

"Dr. Schrader said he wanted to see you, Professor. He says it's important."

"I'll be there presently, Luke. While I'm gone, would you mind putting the kettle on? I'd trust that small task with Flora but I'm slightly afraid she might think it necessary to make a side-dish..."

"Eurgh." Luke blanched at the memory of Flora's 'creative' meal the previous evening, and had a vivid flashback of himself bolting to the toilet shortly after.

"Now now Luke, a gentleman never forgets his manners."

"Sorry Professor."

Layton gave a small smile and ruffled his apprentice's spiky hair as he strolled briskly out the door and down the corridor that lead to Dr. Schrader's office.

He rapped politely on the door.

"Yes?" came the muffled reply from inside.

"Andrew?"

"Ah! Hershel! Come in!"

Layton pushed the door opened and took a tentative step into the room. The room resembled Schrader's apartment in many ways, the dinosaur fossils on the walls and the enormous world maps from when people were under the impression the world was flat lay everywhere.

"I trust Luke gave you the message? He's a good boy, a reliable boy."

"If not a little excitable at times..." added Layton with a warm smile.

"Ah, but weren't you at his age?"

Ignoring the colour that tinged Layton's cheeks, Schrader ushered him quickly over to his desk and brushed several scrolls out of the way.

"This arrived on my doormat this morning." announced Schrader proudly.

"Tokens?" suggested Layton, lifting up the small roll of orange tokens and inspecting them closely, "But there appears to be some sort of code etched at the top."

"Exactly."

Layton paused, turning to review his dearest friend with a meticulously arched eyebrow.

"These are tokens to a carnival." he said slowly.

"Yes." said Schrader, with a slow nod, "Rellik's Carnival of Mystery and Intrigue to be exact."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"My dear Hershel, I need you to investigate for me!"

"But..."

"I know it seems un-worthy of investigation, but there are these disappearances happening lately..."

"I've read about those. But you can't possibly be insinuating that they're connected...?"

"Elsie Turner, Jackson Lake and Portia Matthews all vanished earlier this week. A leaflet for 'Rellik's Carnival' was recovered in all of their homes. You can't say that's pure coincidence, Hershel?"

Layton stayed silent, the brim of his hat shading his eyes as he remained deep in thought.

"I need you to investigate for me. I'd do it myself if it weren't for...for my health."

"I understand."

"So you will?"

"Just this once, Andrew."

Smiling gratefully, Schrader patted his friend on the shoulder. Layton bobbed his head and glanced towards the door.

"I can imagine Luke and Flora shall be over-joyed at the prospect of a trip to the carnival..."

**(Okay, okay, it was the first chapter, it's allowed to be terrible...  
>Please read and review, I shall give you a cookie and un-dying love if you do!) <strong>


	2. Rellik's Carnival

**(I do not own Professor Layton or anything to do with it! If I owned it, Clive would marry me.)**

Chapter Two

Rellik's Carnival

s Layton had predicted, both Luke and Flora were positively buzzing with excitement as the clambered into the Layton-mobile and slowly (but surely) made their way to the site of the carnival. Flora in particular, who'd never been to a carnival before in her life, was almost hysterical.

"Can we get cotton candy, Professor? Please, oh, please can we get cotton candy!" begged Luke, clamping his hands together pleadingly.

"If they sell it Luke..." Layton chanced a small chuckle and tried to drag his attention away from the pleading whines of his apprentice and back to the road ahead of them.

"I'd love to try some cotton candy..." piped up Flora, squinting out the window for sign of the promised fun-fair.

"Or hot dogs!" added Luke loudly, waving his arms, "There're always hot dog stands at carnivals!"

"Eeh! I can't wait!" Flora squealed, smiling broadly.

Layton glanced at the tokens which lay on his dashboard still.

"Why don't we try a puzzle to pass the time?" he suggested, ignoring the soft groans which came from the back seat, "The farmer wants to get his goat, wolf and cabbage to the other side of the river. His boat isn't very big and it can only carry him and either his goat, his wolf or his cabbage. Now...if he leaves the goat alone with the cabbage, the goat will gobble up the cabbage. If he leaves the wolf alone with the goat, the wolf will gobble up the goat. When the farmer is present, the goat and cabbage are safe from being gobbled up by their predators. How does the farmer manage to get everything safely to the other side of the river?"

Luke let out a small disparaging noise as he attempted to count on his fingers. Flora cut just ahead of his as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I think I've got it!"

"Oh?"

"Yes...the farmer must first take the goat across the river. He then returns and picks up the wolf. He leaves the wolf off and takes the goat back across the river with him. Then he leaves the goat at the starting point and takes the cabbage over to where the wolf is. He returns and picks up the goat, and then lands where the wolf and the cabbage are!"

"Correct!" said Layton cheerily, "Care for another?"

He smiled at the noises of displeasure which erupted from the two in the back who'd clearly imagined spending the afternoon at a carnival, not answering puzzles.

"Is that a big wheel?" squeaked Flora, pressing herself against the window.

"Where? Where?"

"Calm down, you two."

"It's huge!"

"Look! There are more!"

"Luke, a true gentleman remains-"

"Is that a carousel?"

"Flora, please-"

"Hurry! Hurry!"

The Layton-mobile turned an abrupt corner, causing Luke and Flora to fall against the far side of the car as Layton struggled to regain control of the steering. A tender moment passed as Luke realized that Flora's hand was on top of his own. His eyes met hers, and they both blushed furiously.

"S-Sorry!" she squeaked quietly, retracting her hand and chancing an embarrassed smile.

Before Luke had a chance to say anything in response to this however, the car slowed to a stop.

"Now, I want you both to stay close and-"

Before the Professor could even finish his sentence, Luke and Flora had scrambled out of the car and were running towards the carnival, not even slightly put off by the fact it appeared to be deserted.

Everything seemed _too_quiet. The Professor followed them to the entrance of the carnival, before slowing to a halt and staring at the large poster which was stuck on a post.

"What's this?" he murmured, reading the poster carefully.

His eyes grew wide.

_Ten tokens. Ten chances._

_When you run out of tokens, you've run out of chances._

_You'll never escape._

_You could always leave now, but then you'll never find out what happened to the others._

_Remember to have fun._

**(I incorporated some Luke/Flora for ya all...now pleeeeeeeeease read and review! I BEG YOU!)**_  
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	3. Hall of Mirrors

**(You should know by now, I do not own Professor Layton! I wish I did though...)**

Chapter Three

Searching

Luke and Flora seemed to sense there was something wrong before the Professor had even started to tell them. Now that they were closer to the rides, they could see the peeling paint and fragile structures.

"What are the tokens for then?" asked Luke nervously, glancing around the deserted rides.

"I think they act as payment, my boy." Layton began to explain slowly, "We need to search the area, and in order to gain access to the areas we need to search, we must pay a token."

"B-but we only have ten."

"And far more than ten areas to search."

Flora swallowed, glancing over her shoulder.

"Does anyone else feel like they're being watched?" she asked quietly.

The trio started to make their way through the assorted rides, but were stopped dead in their tracks as they saw a figure crouched a short distance away.

"Professor..." whined Luke, tugging on his mentor's sleeve, "There's someone-"

"I do have ears y'know." snapped the shadow.

Flora and Luke yelled out in surprise and stumbled over each-other in an effort to back away.

"Oh, that's right, run away why don't you?" he continued to grumble, "Everyone does nowadays, nobody thinks that ol' Jackie might have feelings."

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, I'm sure Luke didn't mean to cause any offense."

"Damage is done now, ain't it?"

"Would it be possible for us to ask you a few questions?"

"I s'pose."

"Were you also gifted with these...tokens?"

"I was indeedy. People'd gone missing, see? And I, Jackson Lake, famous detective and whatnot, thought I'd play 'ero and go see what was up with this place."

"Did you say Jackson Lake?"

"Heard o' me?"

"I'm afraid not, but I believe your name is now featured on the list of the missing."

"I 'spect it would be. Been 'ere for weeks now."

"What did you _eat?_" piped up Luke.

"What d'you fink? Cotton-candy."

"For weeks?"

"Gotta problem with that?"

"N-no, sir."

The Professor straightened up and frowned, touching the brim of his hat as he thought deeply.

"Hrm..."

"What is it, Professor?" asked Luke brightly.

"It seems that particular people have been targeted. In particular, detectives."

"Why would they try and get all the detectives here?" asked Flora.

"Precisely what I'm wondering, my girl."

Flora flinched as a chilly breeze swept over the assembled group, making Luke glance over at her.

"Not scared are you Flora?"

"N-no. I'm cold, that's all."

"In that case, perhaps we'd better head inside." suggested the Professor, gesturing at the various rickety structures which stood at the back of the fun-fair.

Agreeing, Luke and Flora gave muttered goodbyes to Jackson Lake and followed the Professor towards a crooked building bearing the sign 'Hall of Mirrors'.

As they reached the door, the Professor frowned.

"It costs one token to enter." he said aloud.

"I'm n-not that c-c-cold!" protested Flora, shivering.

"Nonsense, a gentleman would never make a lady stay outside in the cold."

He broke off a token and inserted it into the small box on the door. Almost instantly, the door swung open.

The trio walked cautiously inside.

A long, narrow corridor was ahead of them, the walls lined with oddly shaped mirrors, reflecting them in distorted shapes.

As soon as the Professor stepped inside, the door slammed shut. For a moment, everything was dark, then a faint light was visible from the far end of the corridor.

"This way?" suggested Luke, failing to hide the fear in his voice.

The Professor nodded and made his way slowly down the long corridor. Flora followed, jumping at her own reflection in the various mirrors. Luke was anxiously scampering along behind them, forcing himself not to look anywhere but where he was going so as not to cry out in fear.

The room opened out into a chamber of mirrors, lining the ceiling and walls. Sitting in the middle of the floor, was a flickering lantern.

"Someone's been here recently." noted the Professor, "In fact...they can't have left."

"Very clever." came a voice, and the room was once again plunged into blackness.

**(Teehee, dramatic ending. Now; THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING! I owe you both a cookie!)**


	4. Another

**(I own naught, but I guess you know that by now.)**

Chapter Four

Another

There was a crackle of a match and the lamp was re-ignited. Flora let go of Luke's hand, blushing furiously. A person was crouched by the lamp, a person that hadn't been there a few moments ago.

"Gah!" Luke stepped backwards, "Who're you?"

"That depends on who you are." the person spoke in a low, dangerous voice.

"My name is Hershel Layton, and this is-" said the Professor immediately.

"Luke, his apprentice."

"And I'm Flora."

The figure rose and turned around.

"Elsie Turner."

"The Elsie Turner who's been missing for nearly a week now?"

"The very same."

She was tall, taller than Flora, with a pilot's hat and goggles covering up the majority of her hair, apart from a few tufts which escaped from the edges. There was something almost arrogant about her smile.

"Why're you here?" demanded Luke, still sounding suspicious.

Elsie stuck her hand in her pocket and produced three orange tokens.

"You too?" asked the Professor darkly.

"Amateur detective, I kind of hoped this case would make my name in the world of...mystery...solvers..." she faded off, grinning awkwardly.

"But it didn't go quite to plan?" suggested the Professor.

"That's one way to put it."

The Professor bowed his head, once again deep in though. Luke was still watching Elsie warily, standing just a little in front of Flora as if to protect her.

"Are there others here? Beside you and Jackson."

"You've met Jackson I suppose? He's been here the longest, or at least out of the ones I've met he seems to be. There are probably more. I know of two others, but I haven't seen them for a while..."

"I see. Were they also detectives?"

"Yes, both of them were."

"Hrm..."

"Suspicious, right? I thought that maybe someone was gathering us all together, but I can't think of why."

"I came to a similar conclusion."

She nodded slowly, then crouched down and pulled out some clingfilm-wrapped sandwiches from her bag.

"I'm guessing you're hungry."

"Food?" Luke let out a small squeak of delight.

"I am pretty hungry." admitted Flora, smiling slightly.

"Mr. Layton?"

"Why, thank-you my dear."

"It's nothing much...I have some tea left as well."

"Tea?" even the Professor couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.

Elsie grinned and pulled a flask from her rucksack.

"Is that...instant tea?"

"Yes, is that alright?"

Layton's smile froze, and he took a few seconds to calculate this.

"That's...great. Yes, thank-you."

He took the mug cautiously, staring down into the contents with great restraint. He raised the cup to his lips and took a small sip. Elsie laughed nervously and returned her gaze back down to her bag. When she wasn't looking, the Professor hurriedly poured the instant tea back into the flask.

**(Sorry this one's so short...but I love love love love you guys who reviewed!**

**Gatita101: They have 10 tokens (well, 9 now) and when they run out, they won't be able to do anything except leave, meaning they'll never find out what happened and solve the mystery! Dun dun duun! Hehe, thank-you for reviewing!)**


	5. Trapped

**(I own everythi-...okay, fine, I own nothing... *sadface*)**

Chapter Five

Trapped

After a short while, the Professor broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Thank-you kindly for this, but we must press on in this mystery."

Luke seemed reluctant to leave, perhaps hoping that more food would be offered to him if he decided to stay, but joined the Professor and Flora as they pulled open the door to the Hall of Mirrors.

"Where do you plan on going?" Elsie asked thoughtfully, leaning against a mirror at the far end of the corridor.

"I think it would be wise to get the police involved." said the Professor after a moment of consideration, "Since missing people is their forté, it seems only fair they should be alerted at the very least."

Elsie raised her eyebrows and folded her arms.

"You think you can just walk out of here?"

"W-we can't?" Luke asked nervously.

"Why would I still be here, why would anyone still be here, if we could just come and go whenever we pleased?"

"I thought you just wanted to solve the mystery..." Flora piped up.

"Sure, that's how it starts. You're so wrapped up in the mystery you don't even consider leaving, but then you realize you can't leave, even if you wanted to. They only open the gates for the new arrivals, and once those gates are closed, you can't get out. Trust me. I've tried everything."

The Professor frowned.

"Why would they be so determined to keep us here?"

"That's exactly what I've been trying to find out." Elsie admitted with a shrug.

"Well, you aren't exactly trying very _hard_..." Luke pointed out quietly.

Elsie flinched.

"Luke, a gentleman never talks to a lady in that way."

"But Professor-"

"Luke." his tone was hard.

"Sorry." Luke stared at his shoes.

The Professor touched the front of his hat and walked out of the building, followed hastily by his eager apprentice and Flora.

As they approached the gates, Luke's eyes grew wide.

"Woah...she wasn't kidding!"

Where before there had been only a brightly coloured (though admittedly faded) archway, there were now a pair of wrought iron gates.

"This is potentially problematic..." murmured the Professor.

"Potentially problematic?" Luke repeated, "We're trapped!"

"Now, now, Luke. Every puzzle has an answer...and this whole situation rather reminds me of a puzzle-"

"Perhaps we should search the rest of the park!" Flora announced suddenly, cutting the Professor off abruptly.

"Yes...good plan."

The Professor looked slightly crushed as the trio started to explore once again.

**(Sorry that this one is so short...thaaaaaaaank-you one and all for reviewing! I hope this chapter clears up what you were all asking me! Okay, so, I meant to incorporate the whole 'trapped' element earlier on in the story so you can blame me for that plothole...hehe...**

**Oh, and pwease read and review!)**


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